No movie this year pulverised me as much as this one – I was completely blown away! This is how an independent film should be made. I would say as a retelling of the mentor-protege story it is more effective than “Black Swan” (2010) albeit more raw, more unpredictable, more over the edge. What a performance by the two leads- Miles Teller (as the loyal student) and JK Simmons (as the brutal teacher) - they are unbelievably good. After all the entire movie depends on their performances alone.
Thirty year old writer-director, Damien Chazelle, uses no filmmaking tricks - he just unfolds the story through the characters. This film is not for the weak-hearted. I genuinely felt feverish throughout the film, I felt sick in the stomach. And this is Chazelle’s first major film.
A freshman music student is selected in the jazz band and the teacher decides to test his limits - and boy does he test him. The movie could have been about anything but ‘drums’ is a particularly good idea, since percussions can express raw emotions like no other instrument. “Whiplash” is a great title as it is both the name of a piece of music entwined with the narrative and it is also a blood dripping - whip-lash!
The idea is hard to grasp since it’s not very black and white. In a nutshell the film shows us the pursuit of art can lead to madness if you cannot understand that the main objective is to love your fellow human beings and express yourself in the process. Art for the sake of art can be cruel as is often the case with some great artists. Is it really worth it?
The film does not draw any conclusions but keeps it open. There is a very thin line between excellence and madness and often times that line is crossed. But is it worth it?
I hope they give the Best Supporting Actor Oscar to JK Simmons for his magnificent performance.